I can't believe this. I'm finishing up my first rod and it's really looking pretty good, if I say so myself. THEN . . . I go to put the decal on and found this to be the toughest part of the whole rod building process. It wasn't the wrapping, it wasn't the finish . . . nope, it was putting on that stinking decal!

Yes, I had a spare, but I messed that one up as well. I even had two which Decal Connection did not get quite correct in the initial order and cut them up to see if I could piece them together . . . and I still messed them up. The equivalent of FOUR decals shot to you know where.

I followed the directions, used MicroSet on the blank (which also had two layers of finish) before placing the decal, and never got to the MicroSol stage because whenever I tried to slightly reposition the decal with my MOISTENED finger tips, the decal would either not budge, or it would move too much, wrinkle and couldn't get it back into position without messing up the decal.

Besides the directions, which I have read at least 4 times, are there any tips you can provide to help me reposition the decal once on the blank? Is there some way to make the decal side more easily for repositioning?

I've been there too Ralph, but Microset pretty much solved my problems. The only thing I can think of is maybe it "beaded' too much and didn't stay where you brushed it on? And you did RE-apply it after you put the decal on?

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

Well--

I used a little fish decal from local tackle store (FTU) here in houston....It went on easy I thought it was a sticker than I noticed just the fish was left on there....it was interesting...I put it directly on the rod. Never tried to shift it. Did cp it...not sure if that helps...Shouldn't be hard...

Well--

I used a little fish decal from local tackle store (FTU) here in houston....It went on easy I thought it was a sticker than I noticed just the fish was left on there....it was interesting...I put it directly on the rod. Never tried to shift it. Did cp it...not sure if that helps...Shouldn't be hard...

Ralph, I guess it might be more of a "did alot of 'em " thing ? I built alot of plastic models, so I put on alot of water-slide decals,
Try to be sure your arms and hands are supported, lay the rod out on a clear table, less moving around will help alot , dont have some hi heat Halogen lap on it while your working.

Dave von Doehren
PRRODS......If man built it , man can fix it.and if man built it man can break it !

The MicroSet seemed to be pretty smooth on the surface, so I don't think that is a problem. And I did stroke another layer of MicroSet after applying the decal. It was the repositioning of the decal that I have the problem with.

I kept the rod in my PacBay rod wrapper to support it off the surface of the table and to give me some working space. The rod doesn't really rotate at all when locked in so that didn't seem to be a problem either.

The only lamp that was close to the rod is a daylight balanced tabletop fluorescent which is bright, but it doesn't really throw off any heat.

I've had just the opposite problem if anything with the microset, where I've tried to apply finish after it LOOKED dry and it STILL moved! Not being able to MOVE the decal has never been a problem. Try dropping Jimmi a note and see if he has any ideas . I'm sure he's done many more than I.

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

I know that you are frustrated, I can hear it in your description of events.

Here's what I do, maybe it'll help, maybe I am doing everythign right....but (knock on wood) I've never had difficulties applying the decals.

I use the improved quality waterslide's from Decal Connection. Deb's the best, BTW!

I cut the decal down to just above and below the description type. I round the corners using a very sharp pair of scissors.
It is then applied to a rodblank that has at least one layer of FC light on it. I put a few dabs of water to the application area, warm the decal in a bowl of med ium warm water (not hot) for a couple minutes, peel it off and apply it to the rod. The wet area gives me time to move the decal around. At that point I take paper towels and lighting dab the sticker dry. Then after the outside is free of moisture, I'll use a cotton ball and slide it across to remove the trapped water underneath.

I'll let it dry for the night and then the next day apply the sealing epoxy layer.

Never had a problem.

Now if we want to talk about frustration, lets break out a conversation on guide alignments on 13' float rods! UUUggghhh!

Domenic

Little things that bite...

How much pressure yer little fingers put on the decal as you're positioning it is REAL important. More pressure put down on that decal, the less chance of moving ever again that you have; micro set or not.

The older the finish is that you're applying the micro set to and the decal, the easier it is to re-position. Finish less than 2 or 3 days old, sometimes pretty hard to get the decal to move.

If the decal doesn't move, immediately dip more water with a finger onto the decal. The more you fuss and muss with a decal, the more trouble you'll have moving it.

There is VERY little adhesive on the back of those decals. If they're moved around much after first laying them down, the chances of getting a nice, glossy look to the decal are gonna go down exponentially with how much it was moved.

[home.comcast.net]



Putter
Williston, ND

I think the best way to describe it to get the finger pressure right is to say that little decal is 'floating' above the rod on a POND of water/micro set. Once you push it to the bottom of the pond, the adhesive in the decal sticks to the rod blank.

Putter
Williston, ND

I am using the new waterslide decals. To determine how long to soak the decal, I used some of the waste after trimming the decal. It took as little as 15-20 seconds of soaking for the decal to slide off the paper backing. Should I have let it soak longer before trying to slide the decal?

In the initial moving of the decal from the paper backing to the rod, I moved the decal slightly off the backing then placed the end hanging off the paper onto the blank. With a wet sponge, I pressed lightly onto the decal end and slid the paper (keeping it perpedicular to the blank) from under the decal. Any problem with this technique?

I think Putter may have nailed my problem with the suggestion that I'm a little to "heavy fingered". When I get my replacement decals, I'll try a much lighter touch.

ralph,I generally only soak for about 10 seconds!!Enought to break the bond to the paper.This way it does not dillute the glue.I may have read this on the DC web site.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

I found that sliding it from the top, not the right or left side, is easier. It's easier that way to get it lined up right away so you don't have to fuss with it as much. If you cut the top and bottom close then you will be able to line it up right away as soon as the first part touches the blank. Then just slide the backing off slowly keeping the alignment. I try to get it right from the top as soon as possible and not muck it much at all. I have only used the new waterslide and only need to soak for a few seconds.

As an old model railroader I've had a lot of practice with decals. First, only use distilled water for all aspects of decal work, no impurities to mess things up. Dilute the MicroSol by 50% with distilled water. I use another brand of decal solver. Put dots of the solvent on the rod where you plan to put the decal. Soak the decal in distilled water as per manufaturer's direction. Pick up the decal by the right side with tweezers, touch the decal on a kleenex or paper towel to blot off the excess water. With the left hand, gently slide the decal partly off the paper, then position the part of the decal just hanging off the paper on the rod where you want it to start. There should be decal solvent in that spot. Again, gently hold the decal in place on the rod with your finger and slide the rest of the decal onto the blank. The decal should now be on top of enough solvent that you can still position the decal to its final spot. Do not use your finger, needle nose tweezers work very well for final positioning. put some more solvent on your brush and gently spread it along the four outside edges. If you move the decal, reposition it with the tweezers. Then walk away for 24 hours. MicroSol actually disolves the decal slightly, that's a property that allows the decal to settle around irreguler surfaces which you find when doing model work. Too strong a slovent may "melt' and break up the decal, sometimes letting the decal stay in the water too long does the same.

My specialty personal name decals come from Decal Connection while I make my own customer name decals from clear decal paper and dry transfer letting (rub-on).

Decal Connection says that the new waterslide decals may need to be soaked for as much as two minutes before sliding off. Maybe I did not actually get the new decal material even though that is what I ordered. If I accidentally got the old, because I soaked it for 15-20 seconds is part of why I was having a problem - I soaked it too long!

From this first experience, I'm not certain trying to slide it from the top instead of from the end would have made it easier, based on the problems I had moving it around.

Clean the area the decal is going to be placed on.

Use a drop of full strength color preserver (this is the only time I EVER use cp on a rod) and slide the moistened decal onto the blank. slide it around as desired until perfectly placed.

Get a strip of clear cellophane and drape over decal, apply pressure to the ends of the cellophane so as to put pressure on the decal to flatten it out to squeeze as much cp from under the decal as possible. You can even put pressure on the decal through the cellophane.

Let set overnight before finishing.

Lou